striped song of the Day A regular feature showcasing the music currently stuck in our heads. Each week, contributors will piece together their daily picks, and a playlist of the week’s tracks will be available on Fridays.
When I was 10, I convinced my parents to get cable TV so I could watch Cartoon Network. But, with animation came channels about animal documentaries and news arguments and music videos and other things I didn’t care for.
Still, they were something to turn to when bored. And one day I was faced with ‘Get ur freak on’.
It was a complete shock. What in the world was this thing?
A boy speaks Japanese before a bhangra beat with a tabla percussion line kicks in, a ’90s hip-hop bass hits and Missy Elliott explodes with her goofy, strong bars. It was a mishmash, a hodgepodge, a Frankenstein’s monster of patchwork musical ideas.
I hated it. But it got stuck in my head and I never managed to get it out.
With time, I have come to love it. Timbaland’s production pulls together ideas and influences from very different sounds, histories and backgrounds. They don’t fit in easily. How can they? But together they come together into something fresh and new and exciting. And Missy imposes her will on the track, seemingly forcing it to comply through sheer force of personality.
Now is a good time. And remains a headbanger even after 22 years.
This article is part of Stripe, a special publication of bdnews24.com that focuses on culture and society from a youth perspective.